Hannah Miley keeps battling on after Rio Olympic heartbreak

Scotland's Hannah Miley is taking part in the British Championships in Sheffield. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS

Ending up one-twentieth of a second away from claiming the Olympic medal she’d always wanted felt like a punch to the gut in Rio last summer. Many would have re-programmed the alarm clock to rest up and recover and then find something else to do in life. Something that didn’t involve a regime of frequent torture. But Miley will plunge into the fray at the British Championships in Sheffield today with her sights set on earning selection for July’s world championships, insisting that the pain of Rio is now dealt with and cast aside.

“It was hard to get over,” she said. “It is still hard to talk about it. I had the World Cup after Rio when some folk were still on time off and it helped to get back in the water and keep going. I didn’t think about sessions. I just enjoyed the feel of the water. I played with my strokes without having a coach monitoring everything. Having that kind of routine kept me moving forward and that’s why I’m still here now.”

Fourth in the Olympic final was frustrating and ultimately, left Miley short of her personal goal. That meant an inquest and a willingness to look for beneficial changes. Her long-time mentor, father Patrick, was appointed swimming coach at the University of Aberdeen. After spending her life training in the 25-metre pool in her home village of Inverurie, his daughter packed up and followed him to the city.

“I have my own place in Aberdeen,” she said, having flown the parental nest. “I have a full-time coach. A squad I can train with so I’m not on my own any more. But mainly I love swimming. I love training. I love being in the gym. I love pushing myself to find out what my limits are. I do enjoy the racing but it’s the whole process that I’m enjoying, more than I’ve possibly ever done before.”

Miley, expected to start the trials on a high tonight in her favoured 400 metres individual medley, will be among a clutch of Scots at Ponds Forge over the next six days looking for berths in Budapest. Olympic silver medallists Duncan Scott, Dan Wallace and Stephen Milne now have reputations to protect.

Ross Murdoch, so downcast after exiting in the semi-finals in Rio, is aiming to bounce back with the European  champion’s path eased after Adam Peaty opted out of going head to head with his British breaststroke rival over 200m.

With Scottish Swimming also using the championships as a key selection meeting for next year’s Commonwealth Games, there are ample incentives to shine. The only Olympics which matter now are in Tokyo in three years time and that, Miley declares, is where her thoughts lie.

“A lot of swimmers feel stuck after an Olympic Games. But the world moves on. You can get left behind. You don’t know what to do with yourself so it’s good to have all those events to look forward to and set goals for. If you don’t keep up, you’ll be left behind and I don’t  want that.”